Why would a house not sell in this market?

[Fretfulmum]

There’s a house we love which we have viewed and no current red flags we have come across yet.
Newly refurbished (2 years ago), great size. Location is on a main road is probably the negative but we can overlook this. Houses in the area go very quickly and there a very few on the market. This house has been on RM since June 2021. I can’t understand it. EA says they had someone who pulled out recently (won’t give a reason other than they no longer wanted to move) but it’s definitely been on RM for a while even if it went off the market for a period of time.
I’ve asked if there have been any surveys done and EA said no and no issues with the property have been flagged such as previous planning or structural. Apparently sellers keen to move. Price is about right I think.
What other questions can I ask as to why it’s still sitting around? There has to be a major reason?

Around where I live, the only houses that haven't sold really quickly are ones on a main road (which puts off most local buyers but not those who are moving from cities/big towns etc) or have potential developments close by (same as above), or are hugely overpriced to attract people relocating from more expensive areas, realising they can work from home more, and are used to very very little space, both inside & outside the property.
Ultimately anything is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it, but it really doesn't help when people are looking to move en masse from very expensive'commuter' locations out to other areas which then completely out prices local families and purchasers.

@SW1amp

And remember that estate agents dont have to volunteer information but they can’t lie

So phrase your questions as such…

‘Did any previous sales fall through because of issues thrown up by a survey?’ not ‘any particular reason it hasn’t sold yet?’

I’d like to change your post to ‘estate agents don’t have to volunteer information but they ‘shouldn’t’ lie (but they do).

Case in point - I asked about a history of subsidence. Agent said ‘no, no history’. I said ‘hmmm’ because I had seen some (very well hidden) signs that a cursory survey would not necessarily pick up on. I did some research. I found it had a history of subsidence. I told the agent. They said ‘whoops, we’ll look into it’ and then they confirmed there had been a history of subsidence. (Would have still bought it with subsidence but there were other issues).

OP - you can find a buyer for anything at the right price. As it stands, the property is priced too high. Either carry out improvements to meet buyer expectations at that price or lower your price expectations.

Neighbour dispute? I could be wrong but I think a seller has to disclose that info. As a buyer that would put me RIGHT off no matter how great the property was.

Main reasons houses we saw remained on the market...

• unreasonable expectations by vendors on price (downsizers and probate sales),

• divorcing vendors where one of them didn't want to sell (obstructive about viewings),

• major fault found during survey,

• an issue with the environment that wasn't clear from listing (e.g. poor access road, next to a petrol station, electricity pylon in the garden, on a much busier road than expected).

We saw the most beautiful property that looked perfect on paper. In reality, it was a mile down a very rough muddy lane (like an off-road driving course!), the neighbour had a front garden full of rusty old tractors and stood on his lawn holding a chain saw for the duration of our viewing 😆). The property is still on the market 2 years later!!

Are you sure you have overlook the fact that it’s near a main road? We bought a similar house and it’s one of the biggest regrets of my life. I’ve since moved and am thankful every day I don’t live in my old house anymore.

@DifficultBloodyWoman

There is no obligation on agents to do their own research on a property
So if the vendor hasn’t told them about subsidence, or the sale falling through with another vendor, or a neighbour dispute, they have plausible deniability

But if an agent knows something, such as the reason a sale fell through, they can’t lie about it. Or if they do lie about it, you buy the house because of the lie and then you find out about the lie, you have recourse…

So it pays to get a paper trail by asking questions on email, because an agent won’t want to create an evidence trail for you to use to sue them in the future…

SW1amp - I agree that the agent is not obliged to research the history of the property.

Perhaps it wasn’t clear in my post, but I questioned specifically, and was told equally specifically, that ‘the property has not suffered from subsidence in the past’.

They had had me pegged as a first time buyer they could take advantage of. They backtracked when they realized I actually knew my shit and the ins and outs of property in that area and the sale/purchase process.

Thanks everyone. EA was no help and hasnt disclosed anything. I know think the house is definitely overpriced by at least £100k mainly due to the road and area. We are moving from London so the prices overall didnt seem high to us initially but for the area and the property, it is high. I think the sellers paid well over for the house when they bought it and then spent quite a bit on renovations so now want to get there money back understandably, but want more than it’s worth and are not willing to budge. We have decided to keep looking at other properties for now

After research I’ve also found out that HS2 is being built nearby. I don’t think noise will be an issue- it’s not that close- but it’s definitely nearby

So there you go… it won’t sell because it is too expensive

The only reason houses don’t sell - because they are overpriced